Of Quidditch Plays and Determination
by Samantha7425
Summary: When Al Potter wants something, he'll work his tail off to get it. So when faced with Quidditch tryouts and maintaining Slytherin's three year winning streak, he knows just what to do. One-shot.


Rain fell in heavy sheets all around me, soaking me to the bone the second I stepped out the door. Undeterred, I kept walking down to the Quidditch pitch. I stopped by the broom shed to pick up my _Firebolt 4.0 _and a box of Muggle golf balls. Pushing my sopping bangs out of my eyes, I mounted my broomstick and took off. Though the rain clouded my vision somewhat, I could still see the enchanted golf balls zooming around the goal posts.

In a way, the rain was a good thing. It would help prepare me for when (not if) I made the team and we had matches in this kind of weather. Flying high, I lunged for one of the balls lingering near a post on the other side of the pitch. As my fist closed around it, thunder sounded from not too far off. Thunder meant lightning, and lightning meant that you definitely shouldn't be near six giant metal posts. There was no lightning yet though, and tryouts were on Monday, so I kept on flying.

Clinging to my broom, I braced myself against the howling wind and went for another ball. After successfully catching them all, I decided to call it a night. It was just getting darker and darker, and I could barely see my hands in front of me, let alone a tiny ball on the other side of the field.

Trudging back to the castle, I slowly made my way to the Slytherin common room. Practicing every day was wearing me out quickly, but I was determined to keep at it. It was Thursday, so there were only three more days of this intense training before I would see if I was even good enough to make the team. After three years of dying to play for my house Quidditch team, I would stop at nothing to finally make it.

Come morning, my muscles ached and I could barely walk down to the Great Hall for breakfast without being in intense pain. But that didn't stop me from changing out of my school uniform and running out to the pitch as soon as I finished dinner. I practiced late into the night, only coming in once Scorpius came to fetch me and forced me to at least attempt to do some homework.

By the time Monday rolled around, I was pumped. After such vigorous training, how could I not kick total ass at tryouts? When I got there, there were only a few other guys trying out for the position of Seeker. Loads of other blokes and even a few girls had shown up for various other spots though, so it was ages until I actually got to fly.

Finally mounting my broom, I flew straight up into the air. My watching housemates cheered loudly- they all knew how hard I'd been working, and wanted me on the team almost as much as I did. The tryout process was quick- I caught the snitch easily. And, just like that, I was on the team.

_-Albus Severus Potter-_

It was the last game of the season- the most important one by far. We'd been on a winning streak for the past three years, ever since I'd joined the team. Now, as captain and in my last year, I was personally going to make sure that we won.

Naturally, the game was against our rival. Gryffindor. We creamed them earlier in the season, but they'd beaten Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff pretty soundly afterward. I didn't show it, but I was a little of worried. Their team had been pretty much unstoppable all year. But we were better. So it was with fierce determination in my heart that I shook hands with their captain and flew high above the game in search of the golden snitch.

An hour later, the score was 200 to 180, and we were barely winning. All I needed to do was catch the snitch and the Cup would be in my hands. Circling the pitch in an endless loop, I kept my eyes peeled for a sign of gold. Then, as if on cue, I saw a tiny flash of a wing in the middle of a struggle for the Quaffle below me. Risking a quick glance at the Gryffindor Seeker, I could tell she hadn't seen it.

I couldn't let the snitch get away, so I dove straight down, sending players from each team hurriedly backward as I almost flew into them. The Gryffindor Seeker was on my tail the second I took off, but I was close, so close, and then, next thing I knew, I had it. Grinning triumphantly, I held the snitch up for everyone in the stands to see. The boos were deafening, but even louder were the cheers from all the assembled Slytherins.

I was swept up by my teammates as soon as I touched to the ground. We did it. Bloody hell, we did it! All the late night practices and the skipping out on homework in favor of learning new flying techniques had finally paid off! We skipped the locker rooms for once, in favor of heading straight to the dungeons for our victory party. Merlin, I loved winning.

**AN:** Done for swirling-summernote's "NextGen Personality Traits Challenge". My character was Albus, and my trait was fiesty ("having or showing exuberance and strong determination.")


End file.
